Posted Nov. 11, 2008, 3 a.m. EST
A veterinarian, farmer and small-business owner from Oregon has been elected to represent the state’s 5th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives. Democrat Kurt Schrader owns Clackamas County Veterinary Clinics, which treat companion animals and horses.
Schrader, who will succeed retiring Rep. Darlene Hooley, is a member of the American Veterinary Medical Association and the Oregon Veterinary Medical Association. He has served in Oregon State Legislature since 1997, first in the Oregon House of Representatives and then, beginning in 2003, in the state Senate.
Dr. W. Ron DeHaven, CEO of the AVMA, said America’s veterinarians are pleased with having another colleague serving in Congress. “We look forward to working with Congressman-elect Schrader and his colleagues in the 111th Congress on key federal issues such as food safety, bioterrorism and animal health and well-being,” DeHaven said.
During his tenure in the Oregon Legislature, Schrader was an advocate for veterinary medicine and helped secure state funding for key veterinary programs. As a congressman, he has said he will work toward the following goals:
- Bring U.S. troops home from Iraq and redirect funds into education, health care and infrastructure.
- Work with the AVMA and Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges to create scholarship or student-loan repayment programs for veterinarians who commit to working in rural areas in need of veterinary care.
- Work to close the Medicare prescription “doughnut hole” that puts medicine out of reach for many seniors and fully fund the federal health insurance plan for children.
Schrader earned his bachelor’s degree from Cornell University in 1973 and his doctorate of veterinary medicine from the University of Illinois in 1977.